


Denial Ain't Just A River In Egypt

by Chocolateshots



Category: Green Creek Series - T.J. Klune
Genre: Canon Compliant, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-06-26 07:04:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 2,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15658197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chocolateshots/pseuds/Chocolateshots
Summary: “What the fuck is its problem?!” Carter is yelling, arms flailing helplessly as he’s pulled in opposite directions by Kelly and the giant timber wolf.From his view on the front porch, Ox stirs a spoon in his mug of hot cocoa, his expression as he watches remains amused.“Do you think someone should tell him?”A set of snaps exploring the beginnings of Carter/Timber Wolf.





	1. What You Don’t Know Won’t Hurt

**Author's Note:**

> These drabbles exist because after reading Ravensong, my imagination demanded this little exploration.

From their positions on the front porch of the house, the Bennett pack watch as the giant timber wolf and Kelly Bennett engage in yet another round of tug-of-war over Carter. Despite the fact that Kelly isn't winning, they've wisely chosen not to intervene.

“You’re meant to be _saving_ me!” Carter is yelling, arms flailing helplessly as he’s pulled in opposite directions.

"I'm _trying_!"

"Try harder!” Carter yells again, clearly annoyed and about to lose his t-shirt. “Fucking wolf! What is your problem!"

“Do you think someone should tell him?” Ox asks mildly as he stirs his spoon in the mug of hot cocoa that Elizabeth had handed him a moment ago. His expression is amused although he has the decency to wince as the timber wolf gives an enormous tug and Kelly’s hold on Carter’s ankles give in so that the older boy goes flying into a thick wall fur with a sharp yelp.

At the question, Joe and Mark exchange a look before shaking their heads in unison.

“Nah.”


	2. no means no/resilience

The storm has finally come. The hunters are camping out in Gordo’s garage in town and the Bennett basement is filled with sleeping omegas. And yet, for Carter, it would seem like these weird and unpleasant things are just the icing on the cake because as he goes up and crosses the threshold of his room, his feet come to a grinding halt at the sight of the timber wolf trespassing into his space.

“NO!”

There is moving _werewolf quick_ and there is moving _werewolf-quick-as-a-giant-trespassing-asshole-is-crashing-your-sacred-space_ , and it’s the latter that Cater does as he rushes into the room, eyes flashing violet, his hands turning into claws.

“You’re not sleeping in _my_ room! I don’t even _know_ you! Get out!”

For a moment, the timber wolf only growls, but Carter growls back and when he refuses to back down, the wolf finally goes and sleeps in the hallway.

They complete this ritual again on the second night and also the third night, and the fourth night, and the fifth night, but eventually Carter gives up because he’s tired. A crazy hunter is out to kill them and the world might just be ending, and he really doesn’t have enough energy in him to resist.


	3. Laid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, nerily, for leaving the first kudos and lovely comment! I totally feel you on the Heartsong wait! A lot of fanfiction will be needed to pull me through! :)

Literally everyone in the Bennett pack is happy that Mark and Gordo have finally pulled their heads out of their asses and are now behaving like a properly mated couple. And despite all of Cater’s complaints, he’s happy too, though the idea of Uncle Mark and Gordo having sex turns his stomach and makes him want to fill his brain with bleach.

And maybe it’s a good thing those two will be staying at Gordo’s house, because around the Bennett house there is still Joe and Ox’s canoodling to be suffered, not to mention all the puppy eyes Robbie keeps shooting Kelly.

So when Rico finally invites Bambie over for Sunday dinner, and Carter finds them giggling in the backyard, he is more than certain that he would feel better about all this coupling if he found himself a girlfriend.

The only problem with that idea is that these days the timber wolf seems to have it in its head to follow him around with no concern of being seen by humans. Which really throws a wrench into any kind of dating plans he might have.

“You’re literally the worst, most annoying wolf _ever_ ,” he complains over his shoulder, and sure enough, the timber wolf behind him cocks its head and whines softly before pressing its nose into Carter’s back; which would have been cute if the animal had been a kitten instead of a wolf the size of a horse. Never mind the fact that it was also a _person_.

“Shit. I’m never getting laid.”


	4. The M Words

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the encouraging comments and kudos! <3  
> And haha... I guess it didn't take long for Team Human to clue him in.

It’s easy to tease Kelly about Robbie. Almost as easy as it is to tease Robbie about Kelly, and as Kelly’s older brother, Carter figures that it’s practically his _job_ and birthright to make things as awkward as possible when he finds his brother and Robbie curled up together while watching a movie in the den with the humans.

It’s not one of Rico’s trash shows, but it’s bad enough, and as the timber wolf stalks in behind him, Carter has already wedged himself in between Kelly and Robbie while saying something about needing to physically protect his brother’s virtue from sly wolves.

From somewhere in the darkened room, Jessie mutters, “pot, kettle,” and he just stares right at her because even over the sound of the movie he can _hear_ her just fine.

“We’re just saying that you’ve got a wolfy friend of your own,” Chris says with a teasing grin and Carter rolls his eyes at that because it’s not the same and they know it.

“It’s not my fault this stupid feral wolf follows me around all the damn time,” he complains and Rico coughs loudly, muttering something as he turns towards Tanner, and it’s like the bad movie they’re watching, awful and predictable, because Carter already knows what’s coming and he points a finger at Rico in warning.

“No. It’s not—“ he starts, and at the same time Rico says “It’s just the usual—“

“No—“

“Oh, come on—“

“Don’t you dare say it!”

“Say what?” And the grin Rico flashes could light up the whole den.

“You _know_ what.”

“You mean _mystical moon magic_?” Tanner grins, joining in. His voice is slightly sing-song like he’s enjoying this way too much.

The rest are laughing as Carter growls, and he feels his face flush in the darkness.

Fuck Jessie and Rico and Chris and Tanner. 

“That’s _not_ what this is!”

But behind them, the timber wolf is rubbing its muzzle in one of the pillows that Carter usually favours and the only response he gets is a collection of smug faces.

“Yeah. Good luck telling it that,” Jessie says.


	5. Patterns

One night after a full moon run, he watches as Uncle Mark bounds over and brushes his snout deep into Gordo’s neck and inhales the same way the timber wolf sometimes does to him, and the realization makes his heart hammer and his skin break out into cold sweat.


	6. Girls

The timber wolf couldn’t be in love with him. It couldn’t. It was completely impossible. After all, it wasn’t like they had even ever _spoken_ to each other. He couldn’t even sense him within the omega bonds with Ox, so to Carter, the wolf was just another freaking _feral_. He didn’t _know_ it/him.

And yes, it was most definitely a him, because while Carter liked to constantly unsex the wolf in his mind, there was definitely an undeniable _he-ness_ there that Carter couldn’t always ignore.

“I like _girls_ , okay?” Carter insists one night as he lies in bed, gesturing towards the door of his bedroom where a younger Taylor Swift smiles back at him. It’s an old poster, its colors fading, and he doesn’t remember where he got it or whether it had been he or Kelly who had stuck it up, but it doesn’t matter because he has a point to make.

“Girls, not _dudes_. Chicks instead of dicks, bellas over fellas — basically, I’m just _really_ straight,” he continues, his gaze hardening as he looks to meet the pair of violet eyes that watch him from the floor of his room.

“So don’t get any ideas.”


	7. Communication

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your ongoing support for this little exploration! @romanrogers: ahaha I’m glad you think it’s realistic and that you’ve enjoyed this! I’ve been having fun torturing Carter with his angst, though it’s probably time the Timber Wolf makes him squirm some more hehe.

There were many things that Carter doesn’t understand about what is happening, but there are also things that he knows; hard facts that he can count on. Like the fact that Kelly is his tether, and yet he knows that he doesn’t feel attracted to his brother in some creepy incestuous way. Like the fact that Gordo is tethered to Ox, and there is no way that _that_ relationship is sexual in nature. 

These facts are things that Carter finds himself clinging to, because maybe this _thing_ between him and the wolf isn’t some freaky romance thing.

“Look. I don’t think you get it,” Carter says one evening. He’s pacing back and forth in the study in front of a small whiteboard with a marker, trying to sound convincing despite the fact that the stick figures he’s drawn to represent the various members of the pack look like they’re in various stages of rickets.

“Kelly is _my_ tether. And I’m _Kelly’s_ tether, okay?”

The tip of his marker moves as he speaks, thickening the line between the two figures.

“So, really. You can’t just include yourself to _our_ circle of tether trust, okay? Kelly’s already called dibs and no one likes a third wheel.”

And maybe the diagram is too complex for it’s stupid feral brain, because the timber wolf blinks and doesn’t seem to react which only forces Carter to banish the marker in his face and abandon the explanation for something easier to comprehend.

“If you sniff me in my sleep, I _will_ hurt you.”


	8. Gift

There is a dead deer at the foot of Carter’s bed when he wakes up the next morning and so, naturally, he loses his shit. It’s six-fifteen in the morning and he’s screaming bloody murder, waking every soul in the house. 

The blood dries over his floorboards in a thick, red smear; the scent of the dead animal seeping into each crack and crevice, heavy and metallic. 

In the room down the hallway, Joe releases a soft groan that hums through his body as his nose brushes the shell of Ox’s ear, and when he speaks his voice is deep and gravely with sleep.

“Do you know how far one has to go to track deer this time of year?”

The question is rhetorical but the youngest Bennett still sounds fairly impressed as Ox turns over to engulf him in warm arms.

“You’d really think he’d be more grateful.”


	9. Taking Sides

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been ages. Sorry!  
> And I have no idea what I'm writing anymore.  
> -hides-

“I. Don’t. Want. Your. Smelly. Deer.”

Carter’s words are sharp and meant to stab. Much like the finger that pushes into the timber wolf’s shoulder at the enunciation of each syllable.

Kelly had to help him with the carcass because it had been that big.

His annoyance is still bright and sharp as he remembers the stupid feral wolf’s gloating face as they had struggled the tight corners to get it back down the stairs. It had taken a couple of hours to get the blood cleaned off and later that evening, in the basement, as Carter bends to finally unload the dryer, he freezes mid-way when upstairs the kitchen door opens, sending a waft of deliciousness into the air. 

“Oh my god! Mom!”

He can barely believe his nose as he takes the steps two at a time, rounding the corner as Kelly hovers over the dining table, placing silverware and empty plates. Through the opening kitchen door comes the smell of mashed potatoes and stew. It smells mouthwateringly delicious and distinctly of venison.

“Betrayed by my own _mother_ ,” he exclaims dramatically, blue eyes narrowing to glower harder as she breezes towards the table, setting down a big bowl of salad.

Elizabeth Bennet doesn’t even have the grace to look guilty. Instead, she beams up at him with a knowing smile.

“I thought it would be a shame if it all went to waste,” she says before calling everyone to dinner, and as everyone gathers, Carter can only stand there muttering about how rude it is to accept gifts on someone’s behalf. Especially if the said gift was from some crazy feral who didn’t know the meaning of ‘no’.

Across the table, Robbie slides into his seat next to Kelly.

“If you’re going to stand there and make a statement, can I have your share?”

“Shut up,” Carter snarls back.

Then he’s dragging his chair out with more force than necessary and the moment Joe and Ox start eating, Carter’s fork spears into the biggest piece of tender meat within reach.

Because how dare Robbie.

After all, Carter thinks, the deer had been killed for him.


	10. run with you/rotten wolf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe it's time for someone else's pov...

A timber wolf huffs softly in the frigid air as large paws pad through the snow. When he finally halts, his tongue is lolling out of his mouth as he pants, his breath visible in puffs as he tilts his large head to the side to listen.

The world might have been leached of all of its colour, but there is no need for colour in this state.

They called him Carter - the pack. And the wolf is familiar now with this name, as intimately as he knows his own. But in this state, stripped of humanity, the knowledge of names as identifiers - even _his_ name - is absurd.

Instead, he is oakmoss and limestone. Sage and cinnamon and home home home.

and he is here

he’s here i’m here i know i know  
i know  
i can’t feel you  
but i can smell you  
hear your heartbeat  
beat beat beat beat and it’s  
mine mine mine  
please let me follow  
please  
i will go with you anywhere  
till the ends of the earth  
i will protect and keep you  
safe  
i’m big and i’ll fight fight fight  
for you  
protect mate protect mine  
i am coming mate i run run  
please don’t leave me  
please wait  
you smell mad  
why do you smell mad  
whenever i find you  
why won’t you wait for me  
why why  
why  
he says _jesus  
_ he says _will you cut that out already  
_ he says _what is your fucking problem_

i let go of his pants leg  
he loses balance and topples into the snow  
he doesn’t get up and run  
i nudge his elbow with my snout and bow my front paws low  
hind legs and body loose and wiggly, tail waving like a flag

he picks himself up onto his feet  
he says _you’re a pathetic fucking feral  
_ he says _can’t you see how stupid you look  
_ he says _no fucking way am i going to-  
_ he says _i’m going to ignore you now_

he says nothing and just stands there and sighs  
he smells tired and mad  
he rubs his hand over his face and back across the blonde fuzz of his hair  
he still smells tired but slowly there is something else too  
something more

he says _fine  
_ he says _the last one home is a rotten wolf_

and as he starts to run he smiles


End file.
